ABSTRACT
The Province of South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) is located in the southeast of Sumatra island, bordered to the north by Jambi, to the south-west by Bengkulu, to the south by Lampung and to the east, across the Bangka Strait, by the recently formed province of Bangka-Belitung Islands. Inland, the province lies astride the Bukit Barisan mountains, the highest peaks being Mt Dempo (3,159 m), which is on the border with Bengkulu, Mt Patah (2,617 m) and Mt Bungkuk (2,125 m). In the east of the province the land is much flatter. Peat swamps fringe the coastline. There are four major rivers running eastwards through the province from the Bukit Barisan: the Musi (507 km in length), the Ogan (350 km), the Komering (360 km) and the Lematang (300 km). The provincial capital, Palembang, is located about 80 km upstream from the coast on the Musi river, near its confluence with the Ogan. The Musi here is spanned by the Ampera Bridge, the longest in Indonesia. The city’s population in 2000 was almost 1.5m. Palembang is one of four cities and 11 regencies that the province is divided into for administrative purposes (2007 figures).
